Implementation Programs & Policies

The County shall continue to protect and preserve agricultural land by directing growth away from productive agricultural lands into cities, unincorporated urban areas, or existing communities and by supporting the acquisition or voluntary dedication of agriculture conservation easements.

The County shall ensure that discretionary development located on land designated as Agricultural on the General Plan Land Use Diagram and identified as Prime Farmland or Farmland of Statewide Importance on the State's Important Farmland Inventory is planned and designed to remove as little land as possible from potential agricultural production and to minimize impacts on topsoil.

The County shall preserve agricultural land by retaining and expanding existing Greenbelt Agreements and encouraging the formation of additional Greenbelt Agreements.

The County shall encourage Land Conservation Act (LCA) contracts on irrigated farmlands and Open Space lands.

The County shall encourage the continuation and development of facilities and programs that support agricultural production and enhance the marketing of county grown agricultural products.

The County shall improve the economic viability of agriculture through policies that support agriculture as an integral business to the County.

The County shall encourage opportunities for Ventura County residents to buy local agricultural products.

The County shall ensure that discretionary development located on land identified as Important Farmland on the State's Important Farmland Inventory shall be conditioned to avoid direct loss of Important Farmland as much as feasibly possible.

The County shall ensure that discretionary development adjacent to Agriculturally designated lands does not conflict with agricultural use of those lands.

The County shall plan transportation and other County capital improvements so as to avoid or mitigate impacts to important farmland to the extent feasible.

The County’s Right-to-Farm Ordinance shall be maintained and updated as needed to protect agricultural land uses from conflicts with non-agricultural uses, as well as to help land purchasers and residents understand the potential for nuisance, (e.g., dust, noise, odors) that may occur as the natural result of living in or near agricultural areas.

The County shall regulate hillside agricultural grading through the Hillside Erosion Control Ordinance and its oversight by the Public Works Agency.

The County should encourage locally owned (Ventura County) farms and ranches, the growing of specialty products and innovative and high-value crops, and specialized animal facilities and rearing methods.

The County shall encourage and support the use of Integrated Pest Management practices to reduce pesticide use and human health risks.

The County shall collaborate with the agricultural community to provide information on Integrated Pest Management and agricultural products and practices in Ventura County.

The County shall strive to enhance access to and consumption of fresh, local produce by encouraging direct connections between local farmers/ranchers and markets, restaurants, institutions, schools, hospitals, food banks, and other businesses.

The County shall work with other agencies and institutions to encourage the use of available public land to allow for community gardens, including on college campuses, schools, parks, and public easements, subject to applicable regulations intended to control and manage for unintended pest and disease impacts to commercial agriculture and suitable plans for ongoing operations and maintenance.

The County shall encourage the use of technology that supports agricultural production, while enhancing environmental sustainability and natural resource conservation.

The County shall continue to monitor leading research findings on methods and technologies for reducing harm to the agricultural sector from invasive plants, pests, and diseases and modify and expand agricultural practices when appropriate and feasible.

The County shall support certified farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture (CSAs) operations, and other similar activities, by working with local communities, local agricultural groups, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Certified Farmers Market Program, particularly in communities that are underserved by healthy food purveyors.

The County shall encourage farmers to reduce fertilizer application and transition to products that reduce or avoid nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, such as organic composting and enhanced efficiency fertilizers.

The County shall encourage and support the transition to electric- or renewable-powered or lower emission agricultural equipment in place of fossil fuel-powered equipment, when feasible.

The County shall encourage farmers to convert fossil fuel-powered irrigation pumps to systems powered by electric or renewable energy sources, such as solar-power, and encourage electric utilities to eliminate or reduce stand-by charges.

The County shall encourage farmers to continue and enhance the water-saving irrigation techniques designed to reduce water consumption.

The County shall encourage and support the efforts of resource conservation districts, farmers, and other stakeholders to expand carbon farming practices, such as reduced tilling, covercropping, composting, biochar, and other activities that both reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase carbon sequestration and storage, when feasible.

The County shall support and monitor research on the effects of a changing climate on the agricultural industry within Ventura County.

The County shall engage the agricultural sector to understand the tolerance of current crop mixes to withstand the impacts of climate change, including increased temperatures, disease, and pests, and explore options to diversify crops.

The County shall ensure that discretionary development that could potentially impact sensitive biological resources be evaluated by a qualified biologist to assess impacts and, if necessary, develop mitigation measures that fully account for the impacted resource. When feasible, mitigation measures should adhere to the following priority: avoid impacts, minimize impacts, and compensate for impacts. If the impacts cannot be reduced to a less than significant level, findings of overriding considerations must be made by the decision-making body.

The County shall require discretionary development that is proposed to be located within 300 feet of a wetland to be evaluated by a County-approved biologist for potential impacts on the wetland and its associated habitats pursuant to the applicable provisions of the County’s Initial Study Assessment Guidelines.

The County shall require discretionary development to be sited 100 feet from wetland habitats, except as provided below. The 100-foot setback may be increased or decreased based upon an evaluation and recommendation by a qualified biologist and approval by the decision-making body based on factors that include, but may not be limited to, soil type, slope stability, drainage patterns, the potential for discharges that may impair water quality, presence or absence of endangered, threatened or rare plants or animals, direct and indirect effects to wildlife movement, and compatibility of the proposed development with use of the wetland habitat area by wildlife. Discretionary development that would have a significant impact on a wetland habitat shall be prohibited unless mitigation measures are approved that would reduce the impact to a less than significant level. Notwithstanding the foregoing, discretionary development that would have a significant impact on a wetland habitat on land within a designated Existing community may be approved in conjunction with the adoption of a statement of overriding considerations by the decision-making body.

The County shall require landscaping associated with discretionary development, or subject to the California Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO), to be water-efficient and include native, pollinator-friendly plants consistent with WELO guidelines, as applicable. The planting of invasive and watch list plants as inventoried by the California Invasive Plant Council shall be prohibited, unless planted as a commercial agricultural crop or grown as commercial nursery stock.

The County shall continue to work in partnership with agencies, organizations, and entities responsible for the protection, management, and enhancement of the county's biological resources.

The County shall support programs that encourage awareness and respect for the natural environment.

The County shall establish and support a countywide target for the County, cities in Ventura County, agencies, organizations, businesses, and citizens to plant two million trees throughout the county by 2040.

The County shall identify sensitive biological resources as part of any land use designation change to the General Plan Land Use Diagram or zone designation change to the Zoning Ordinance that would intensify the uses in a given area. The County shall prioritize conservation of areas with sensitive biological resources.

Based on the review and recommendation of a qualified biologist, the design and maintenance of road and floodplain improvements, including culverts and bridges, shall incorporate all feasible measures to accommodate wildlife passage.

When considering proposed discretionary development, County decision-makers shall consider the development’s potential project-specific and cumulative impacts on the movement of wildlife at a range of spatial scales including local scales (e.g., hundreds of feet) and regional scales (e.g., tens of miles).

Development within the Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Corridors overlay zone and Critical Wildlife Passage Areas overlay zone shall be subject to the applicable provisions and standards of these overlay zones as set forth in the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance.

The County shall require discretionary development on hillsides and slopes, which have an average natural slope of 20 percent or greater in the area where the proposed development would occur, to be sited and designed in a manner that will minimize grading, alteration of natural land forms, and vegetation removal to avoid significant impacts to sensitive biological resources to the extent feasible.

The County shall require that discretionary development and County-initiated projects balance the preservation of streams, wetlands, and riparian habitats with the need to adequately protect public safety and property from flooding hazards by incorporating natural or nature-based flood control infrastructure, (e.g., wetland restoration, soil conservation, vegetated levees), when feasible.

The County shall require discretionary development that includes new or modified road crossings over streams, wetlands and riparian habitats to include bridging design features with bridge columns located outside the riparian habitat areas, when feasible.

The County shall consult with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society, California Native Plant Society, National Park Service for development in the Santa Monica Mountains or Oak Park Area, and other resource management agencies, as applicable during the review of discretionary development applications to ensure that impacts to biological resources, including rare, threatened, or endangered species, are avoided or minimized.

The County shall maintain and refer to the General Plan and its integrated greenhouse gas (GHG) Reduction Strategy as the County’s comprehensive plan for reducing community-wide GHG emissions in the unincorporated County.

The County shall work toward achieving a community-wide GHG emissions reduction target of 41 percent below 2015 levels by 2030.

The County shall work toward achieving longer-term, post-2030 community-wide GHG emissions reduction goals, as follows:  

• 61 percent below 2015 levels by 2040, and  
• 80 percent below 2015 levels by 2050.

The County shall reduce GHG emissions in both existing and new development through a combination of measures included in the GHG Strategy, which includes new and modified regulations, financing and incentive-based programs, community outreach and education programs, partnerships with local or regional agencies, and other related actions.

The County shall strive to minimize the risk from the damaging effects of coastal wave hazards and beach erosion and reduce the rate of beach erosion, when feasible.

The County shall work with Federal, State, and local jurisdictions, agencies, and organizations to monitor saltwater intrusion and take proactive steps to reduce intrusion, including:  

• working to maintain and restore coastal wetlands buffers;  
• enhancing groundwater management to prevent excessive pumping in order to restore groundwater levels needed to reduce saltwater intrusion; and  
• implementing mitigation measures to prevent saltwater intrusion into estuaries and groundwater basins including, but not limited to, implementation of reactive barriers and use of pumps to divert saltwater.

Discretionary development which would result in the removal of dune vegetation shall be conditioned to replace the vegetation.

The County shall support activities that trap or add sand through beach nourishment, dune restoration, and other adaptation strategies to enhance or create beaches in areas susceptible to sea-level rise and coastal flooding.

The County should work with the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment (BEACON), Ventura Port District, Channel Islands Harbor, cities, and the Navy to identify issues and establish common goals and objectives regarding sediment management, as well as to identify resources to meet defined goals.

The County shall require discretionary development for all mining activities in County streams and rivers to incorporate all feasible measures to mitigate beach sand replenishment impacts.

The County shall require all shoreline protective structures which alter natural shoreline processes to be designed to eliminate or mitigate adverse impacts on local shoreline sand supplies.

The County shall continue to plan for the preservation, conservation, efficient use of, enjoyment of, and access to resources, as appropriate, within Ventura County for present and future generations .

The County shall work with federal, state, and local jurisdictions, agencies, and organizations to assess the vulnerability of public coastal access points and prioritize protection for those that provide the greatest benefits to residents and visitors.

The County shall encourage community programs that are designed to improve the quality of coastal fisheries and marine resources

The County shall support efforts by other agencies and organizations to maintain and enhance estuarine systems in order to protect and enhance coastal fisheries and other marine resources.

The County shall protect the visual character of scenic resources visible from state or County designated scenic roadways.

The County shall encourage the planting of trees and the protection of existing urban forests and native woodlands, savannahs, and tree canopy throughout the county, including along State or County designated scenic roadways and in residential and commercial zones throughout the county, especially those located within designated disadvantaged communities.

The County shall give overhead utility undergrounding within high fire hazard areas and Scenic Resource Areas first priority when allocating County Utility Undergrounding Funds.

The County shall ensure that reservoirs are not sited on prominent ridgelines and that new reservoirs are well-screened with native vegetation and berms and, if possible, are undergrounded.

The County shall ensure that ridgelines and major hilltops remain undeveloped and that discretionary development is sited and designed to remain below significant ridgelines, except as required for communication or similar facilities.

The County shall require discretionary development outside of Existing Communities be planned and designed to maintain the scenic open space character of the surrounding area, including view corridors from highways. Discretionary development should integrate design, construction, and maintenance techniques that minimize the visibility of structures from public viewing locations within scenic vistas.

The County shall maintain an inventory of tribal, cultural, historical, paleontological, and archaeological resources in Ventura County based on project studies and secondary resources, including record studies and reports filed with natural history programs, the California Historical Resources Information System and the Native American Heritage Commission.

The County shall cooperate with cities, special districts, appropriate organizations and private landowners to identify known cultural, archaeological, historical, and paleontological resources to preserve identified resources within the county.

For discretionary projects, the County shall request local tribes contact information from Native American Heritage Commission, to identify known tribal cultural resources. If requested by one or more of the identified local tribes, the County shall engage in consultation with each local tribe to preserve, and determine appropriate handling of, identified resources within the county.

The County shall require all structures and sites that are designated, or eligible for designation, as County Historical Landmarks to be preserved as a condition of discretionary development, in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior Standards, unless a structure is unsafe or deteriorated beyond repair. The property owner shall place an appropriate marker on the site to describe the historical significance of the structure, site or event.

The County shall require that all discretionary development projects be assessed for potential tribal, cultural, historical, paleontological, and archaeological resources by a qualified professional and shall be designed to protect existing resources. Whenever possible, significant impacts shall be reduced to a less-than-significant level through the application of mitigation and/or extraction of maximum recoverable data. Priority shall be given to measures that avoid resources.

The County shall require, in all feasible circumstances, discretionary development to adaptively reuse architecturally or historically significant buildings if the original use of the structure is no longer feasible and the new use is allowed by the underlying land use designation and zoning district.

The County shall require discretionary development to incorporate architectural designs and features that reflect the historical and cultural traditions characteristic to the area or community.

Prior to environmental review of discretionary development projects, the County shall initiate a records search request with the South Central Coastal Information Center and coordinate with the Cultural Heritage Board to identify sites of potential archaeological, historical, tribal cultural and paleontological significance, to ensure that all known resources have been properly identified. Should a site of archaeological, tribal, architectural, or historical significance be identified, the County shall provide an opportunity for the Cultural Heritage Board to include recommendations specific to the discretionary project and identified resource(s). If it is determined during the review that a site has potential archaeological, tribal, architectural, or historical significance, information shall be provided to the County Cultural Heritage Board for evaluation. Recommendations identified by the Cultural Heritage Board shall be provided to the appropriate decision-making body.

The Building and Safety Division shall utilize the State Historic Building Code for preserving historic sites in the County.

The County shall strive to protect soil resources from erosion, contamination, and other effects that substantially reduce their value or lead to the creation of hazards.

The County shall encourage the planting of vegetation on soils exposed by grading activities, not related to agricultural production, to decrease soil erosion.

The County shall encourage landowners to participate in voluntary programs that reduce soil erosion and increase soil productivity. To this end, the County shall promote coordination between the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ventura County Resource Conservation District, University of California Cooperative Extension, and other similar agencies and organizations.

Policies related to landslide potential and erosion are in Chapter 7, Hazards and Safety Element.

The County shall balance the development and conservation of mineral resources with economic, health, safety, and social and environmental protection values.

In accordance with California Code of Regulations Section 3676, the County shall maintain classification and/or designation reports and maps of mineral resources deposits as identified by the California State Geologist as having regional or statewide significance and any additional deposits as may be identified by the County, and as provided by the State Mining and Geology Board. The County shall provide notice to landowners and the general public on the location of significant mineral resource deposits.

The County shall promote the extraction of mineral resources locally to minimize economic costs and environmental effects associated with transporting these resources.

Discretionary development within Mineral Resource Zones identified by the California State Geologist shall be subject to the Mineral Resource Protection (MRP) Overlay Zone and is prohibited if the use will significantly hamper or preclude access to or the extraction of mineral resources.

The County shall ensure that discretionary development is compatible with mineral resources extraction and processing if the development is to be located in areas identified on the Mineral Resource Zone Maps prepared by the California State Geologist or in County identified mineral resource areas. The County shall:

1. Require an evaluation to ascertain the significance of the mineral resources deposit located in the area of a discretionary development and to determine if the use would significantly hamper or preclude access to or the extraction of mineral resources.
2. Require discretionary development proposed to be located adjacent to existing mining operations to provide a buffer between the development and mining operations to minimize land use incompatibility and avoid nuisance complaints.
3. Establish a buffer distance based on an evaluation of noise, community character, compatibility, scenic resources, drainage, operating conditions, biological resources, topography, lighting, traffic, operating hours, and air quality.

The County shall require discretionary development for in-river mining to incorporate all feasible measures to mitigate water, biological resource, flooding, and erosion impacts.

The County shall only approve discretionary development for oil and gas development if the area of ground disturbance constitutes the minimum necessary to accomplish the project objectives.

The County shall require new discretionary oil wells to be located a minimum of 1,500 feet from residential dwellings and 2,500 from any school.

The County shall require new or modified discretionary development permits for oil and gas exploration, production, drilling, and related operations be subject to current State and County policies, standards, and conditions.

The County shall require discretionary development for oil and gas exploration and production to use electrically-powered equipment from 100 percent renewable sources and cogeneration, where feasible, to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from internal combustion engines and equipment.

The County shall require that discretionary development for oil and gas exploration activities be conditioned to require the restoration and revegetation of the site if the exploration does not result in oil and gas production facilities.

The County shall evaluate discretionary development to identify any abandoned oil and gas wells on the project site.

The County shall require new discretionary oil wells to use pipelines to convey crude oil and produced water, if feasible. Trucking of crude oil and produced water may only be allowed if the proponent demonstrated that conveying the oil and produced water via pipeline is infeasible. In addition, trucking of crude oil and produced water is allowed in cases of emergency and for testing purposes consistent with federal, state and local regulations.

The County shall require that gases emitted from all new discretionary oil and gas wells shall be collected and used or removed for sale or proper disposal, if feasible. Flaring or venting may only be allowed if the proponent demonstrates that conducting operations without flaring or venting is infeasible. In addition, flaring or venting is allowed in cases of emergency or for testing purposes consistent with federal, state, and local regulations.

The County shall promote the development and use of renewable energy resources (e.g., solar, thermal, wind, tidal, bioenergy, hydroelectricity) to reduce dependency on petroleum-based energy sources.

The County shall encourage battery energy storage systems as an option for optimizing the management of electricity generated by renewable resources.

Land use policies in area plans should be developed to promote energy conservation and should include the following:

1. The pattern of residential, commercial and industrial land use should be compact, relate to transit routes and centers and minimize vehicular travel.
2. The infill of vacant lots should be encouraged over step-out developments

The County shall encourage the State, community choice aggregation programs, and energy utility companies to provide programs, rebates, and incentives for energy efficiency installation and retrofit projects.

The County shall facilitate the coordination of its Climate Action Plan implementation and maintenance with the cities in the county, the Air Pollution Control District, and other organizations to promote countywide collaboration on addressing climate change.

The County, as a signatory to a legal entity created under a Joint Powers Authority with neighboring communities, shall continue to serve as an active member of the Clean Power Alliance or similar organization providing local customer access to electricity generated from low carbon renewable energy sources in excess of State requirements.

The County shall work with utility providers to offer residents options to purchase and use renewable energy resources.

The County shall support the transition to zero net energy and zero net carbon buildings, including electrification of new buildings.

The County shall promote sustainable building practices that incorporate a “whole systems” approach for design and construction that consumes less energy, water, and other non-renewable resources, such as by facilitating passive ventilation and effective use of daylight.

The County shall encourage the integration of features that support the generation, transmission, efficient use, and storage of renewable energy sources in discretionary development

The County shall encourage discretionary development to include the planting of shade trees on each property and within parking areas to reduce radiation heat production.

The County shall preserve natural open space resources through:  

• the concentration of development in Urban Areas and Existing Communities;  
• use of cluster or compact development techniques in discretionary development adjacent to natural open space resources;  
• maintaining large lot sizes in agricultural areas, rural and open space areas;  
• discouraging conversion of lands currently used for agricultural production or grazing;  
• limiting development in areas constrained by natural hazards; and  
• encouraging agricultural and ranching interests to maintain natural habitat in open space areas where the terrain or soil is not conducive to agricultural production or grazing.

The County shall explore possible resources for public acquisition of permanent open space for public use.

The County shall place a high priority on preserving open space lands for recreation, habitat protection, wildlife movement, flood hazard management, public safety, water resource protection, and overall community benefit.

The County shall require evaluation of County General Plan land use designation changes, zone changes, and discretionary development for their individual (i.e., project-specific) and cumulative transportation impacts based on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the methodology and thresholds of significance criteria set forth in the County Initial Study Assessment Guidelines.

The County shall strive to direct interregional traffic to federal and state highways. Improvement to County roadways shall not be for the primary purpose of relieving congestion on federal or state highways.

The County shall coordinate with Caltrans and cities to ensure that truck routes are appropriately designed and designated for the safe and efficient movement of goods throughout the county, particularly to the Port of Hueneme.

The County shall coordinate with Caltrans, cities, and major shipping entities to improve and enhance the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) Terminal Access routes and STAA network connectivity between and among goods movement modes and facilities (e.g., truck routes/terminals, railroads/yards, shipping lanes/ports, and air-transport/airports). This will include at a minimum adequate STAA Terminal “T” and “S” signage as appropriate to improve wayfinding and access to the National STAA Network.

The County shall work with the Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) to determine the feasibility of grade separations on unincorporated segments of NBVC mobilization corridors/Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET) (Figure 4-5) to increase mobility and allow for uninterrupted mission operations and military readiness.

The County shall work with Union Pacific Railroad, the Port of Hueneme, owner of the Ventura County Railroad, Caltrans, cities, and the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to continue to enhance roadway safety along railroad grade crossing surfaces through improvements including the installation of concrete railroad grade crossing surface panels.

The County shall work with Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) and neighboring jurisdictions to enhance circulation for identified roadway mobilization corridors/Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET) (Figure 4-5).

County General Plan land use designation changes, zone changes, and discretionary development that would cause an individual (i.e., project-specific) or cumulative significant transportation impact based on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) shall be prohibited unless:

1. There are no feasible mitigation measures available that would reduce the impact to a less than significant level; and
2. The County’s decision-making body, after balancing, as applicable, the economic, legal, social, technological, or other benefits, including region-wide or statewide environmental benefits, of the project against its unavoidable transportation impact and any other environmental risks, determines that the benefits of the project outweigh the unavoidable adverse environmental impacts and adopt a statement of overriding considerations pursuant CEQA.

The County shall maintain LOS standards for use as part of the County’s transportation planning including the traffic impact mitigation fee program, and the County’s review and consideration of proposed land use legislation and discretionary development. For purposes of County transportation planning and review and consideration of proposed land use legislation and discretionary development, the County shall use the following minimum acceptable Level of Service (LOS) for road segment and intersection design standards within the Regional Road Network and all other County-maintained roadways:

a. LOS-'C' for all Federal functional classification of Minor Collector (MNC) and Local roadways (L); and

b. LOS-'D' for all Federal functional classifications except MNC and L, and Federal and State highways in the unincorporated area, except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (c and d;

c. LOS-'E' for State Route 33 between the northerly end of the Ojai Freeway and the city of Ojai, Santa Rosa Road, Moorpark Road north of Santa Rosa Road, State Route 34 north of the city of Camarillo, and State Route 118 between Santa Clara Avenue and the city of Moorpark;

d. LOS ‘F’ for Wendy Drive between Borchard Drive to Lois Avenue; and

e. The LOS prescribed by the applicable city for all federal highways, state highways, city thoroughfares and city-maintained local roads located within that city, if the city has formally adopted and is implementing a General Plan policy, ordinance, or a reciprocal agreement with the County regarding development in the city that is intended to improve the LOS of County-maintained local roads and federal and state highways located within the unincorporated area of the county.

f. At any intersection between two or more roads, each of which has a prescribed minimum acceptable LOS, the lower LOS of the roads shall be the minimum acceptable LOS for that intersection.

County General Plan land use designation changes and zone changes shall be evaluated for their individual (i.e., project-specific) and cumulative effects, and discretionary developments shall be evaluated for their individual effects, on Level of Service (LOS) on existing and future roads, to determine whether the project:

a. Would cause existing roads within the Regional Road Network or County-maintained roadways that are currently functioning at an acceptable LOS to function below an acceptable LOS;

b. Would add traffic to existing roads within the Regional Road Network or County-maintained roadways that are currently functioning below an acceptable LOS; and

c. Could cause future roads planned for addition to the Regional Road Network or Countymaintained roadways to function below an acceptable LOS.

d. The Level of Service (LOS) evaluation shall be conducted based on methods established by the County.

1. County General Plan land use designation changes and zone changes that would cause any cumulative unacceptable LOS as determined pursuant to Policies CTM-1.3 and CMT-1.4 shall be prohibited unless the Board of Supervisors imposes all feasible conditions of approval to address all unacceptable LOS effects and, after balancing, as applicable, the project’s economic, legal, social, technological, or other benefits, including region-wide or statewide environmental benefits, against the project’s unacceptable LOS effects, determines that the benefits of the project outweigh the project’s unacceptable LOS effects.

2. County General Plan land use designation changes, zone changes, and discretionary development that would individually (i.e., project-specific) cause an unacceptable LOS effect as determined pursuant to Policies CTM-1.3 and CMT-1.4 shall be prohibited unless the improvements to the roadway and intersections are included in the Public Works Agency, Transportation Department Strategic Master Plan with a funding mechanism identified and the project is conditioned on the payment of a fee proportional to the project’s fair share of unacceptable LOS effects.

3. The following are exempt from this Policy:

a. Farmworker Housing Complexes and other housing exclusively for lower-income households.

b. Affordable housing developments, pursuant to Article 16 of the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance, where such developments are served by roads that are currently operating at LOS “E” or better;

c. Additional dwellings and lots on Cultural Heritage Sites as permitted in the Non- Coastal Zoning Ordinance;

d. Agriculture and Agricultural Operations as permitted in the Coastal and Non- Coastal Zoning Ordinances, where such developments are served by roads that are currently operating at LOS ”E” or better;

e. The unacceptable LOS exists on a City-maintained road or federal or state highway located within a city unless the applicable city has formally adopted and is implementing a general plan policy, ordinance, or a reciprocal traffic impact mitigation fee agreement with the County regarding development in the city that is intended to improve the LOS of County-maintained local roads and federal and state highways located within the unincorporated area of the county;

f. Allow LOS “F” for Wendy Drive and maintain as two-lane road; and

g. If the LOS effects of a County-approved Specific/Area Plan are determined acceptable pursuant to Policies CTM-1.3 and CMT-1.4, the LOS effects of any subsequent development that is consistent with the approved Specific/Area Plan shall be exempt from this Policy.

County General Plan land use designation changes, zone changes, and discretionary development within the boundaries of the Ojai Valley Area Plan are subject to the Level of Service goals, policies and programs in the Ojai Valley Area Plan and not subject to Policies CTM-1.3, CTM-1.4 and CTM-1.5.

The County shall require discretionary development that would generate additional traffic pays its pro rata share of the cost of added vehicle trips and the costs of necessary improvements to the Regional Road Network pursuant to the County’s Traffic Impact Mitigation Fee Ordinance.

The County shall oppose discretionary development within cities, and annexation to cities for the purposes of discretionary development, where such development would individually or cumulatively cause:

1. Any existing road within the County’s Regional Road Network, or any existing Countymaintained local road, that is currently functioning at an acceptable Level of Service (LOS) to function below an acceptable LOS pursuant to Policy CTM-1.2;

2. Any existing road within the County’s Regional Road Network, or any existing Countymaintained local road that is currently operating below an acceptable LOS, as determined pursuant to Policy CTM-1.2, to have a worsening of traffic conditions; or

3. Any project that will create a significant unavoidable transportation impact pursuant to Policy CTM-1.1; or

4. Any future road planned for addition to the County’s Regional Road Network, or any planned future County-maintained local road, to function below an acceptable LOS as determined pursuant to Policy CTM-1.2).

This policy does not apply to those cities which have formally adopted General Plan policies, ordinances, or a reciprocal transportation impact mitigation fee agreement with the County similar to Policies CMT-1.3, CMT-1.4,.and CMT-1.5.

The County shall coordinate with Caltrans and Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to monitor the performance measures and targets established by Caltrans and Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for compliance with the National Performance Management Measures Rule for all roadways designated as part of the National Highway System in Ventura County, including some portions owned or maintained by the County.

The County shall prepare and adopt Complete Streets Design Guidelines to be used when constructing new roadways or improving existing roadways where Complete Streets would be appropriate/feasible. The Complete Streets Design Guidelines shall employ a context-sensitive approach to planning and designing the road and street network to reflect the distinct agricultural, rural, or urban character of a particular location.

The County shall work with public and private schools to identify and expand safe routes to school, where feasible.

The County shall establish land use patterns that promote shorter travel distances between residences, employment centers, and retail and service-oriented uses to support the use of public transportation, walking, bicycling, and other forms of transportation that reduce reliance on single-passenger automobile trips.

The County shall coordinate with cities in the county and Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to plan and implement a system of bicycle lanes and multi-use trails that link the cities, unincorporated communities, schools including colleges and universities, commercial/retail, employment centers, health care service facilities, public transportation, and other points of interest.

The County shall strive to eliminate “gaps” in roadways, bikeways, and pedestrian networks by planning for and seeking funding to construct necessary improvements to remove barriers and improve transportation system connectivity as well as connections that support first and last mile accessibility to and from public transportation.

When designing new bicycle facilities, or modifying existing roadways with bicycle facilities, the County shall prioritize and install features to improve the safety and visibility of bicyclists.

The County shall rely on the guidelines and design standards for bicycle and pedestrian facilities established by the California MAnnual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CAMUTCD) and supporting guidelines provided the Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

The County shall consider the safety and accessibility of pedestrians when preparing transportation plans, studies, and reports.

The County shall support efforts to improve regional infrastructure that will make biking more attractive to residents and tourists.

The County shall require discretionary development in designated Existing Communities to construct roadways to urban standards and Complete Streets principles, including curb, gutter, sidewalks, and bike lanes when there is a nexus for improvement. The County shall rely on the guidelines and design standards for Complete Streets design established by the California MAnnual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CAMUTCD), Caltrans in the Highway Design MAnnual, and Complete Streets Guidelines (pursuant to Deputy Directive-64-R2), Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

The County shall continue to examine and update safety metrics for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) impact analysis as appropriate. Options include but are not limited to: queue spill-back at intersections; mid-block unprotected crossings; and, increased crossing distances.

The County shall plan a roadway system that has adequate capacity and is designed to provide reasonable and safe use by vehicles, public transportation, bicycles and pedestrians with minimum delay pursuant to LOS standards described in Policy CMT-1.2. The road system should follow Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) classification as identified on Figure 4-4.

The County shall improve pedestrian safety at intersections and mid-block locations in Existing Communities through approved features consistent with the California MAnnual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CAMUTCD), Highway Design MAnnual, Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 498 (Application of Pedestrian Crossing Treatments for Streets and Highways).

Within Existing Communities, the County shall provide/retrofit separated or buffered pedestrian and bicycle paths from the outside travel lane along County Road Network roads that are designated Overweight Vehicle Corridors and STAA designated Terminal Access Routes. Where the application or retrofitting of separated or buffered facilities is not feasible, the County shall prioritize alternative pedestrian and bicycle connections that encourage and attract pedestrian and bicycle traffic off designated Overweight Vehicle Corridors or STAA designated truck routes.

The County shall seek funding sources first for construction of new sidewalks in low-income areas and then for sidewalk maintenance particularly in low-income areas.

The County shall continue to work with Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), Naval Base Ventura County, and local public transportation regional bus service providers to promote the expansion of a safe, efficient, convenient, integrated, and cost-effective intercommunity and countywide public transportation and bus service that provides county residents with access to employment, commercial services, health and medical facilities, social services, educational facilities and institutions, and personal business destinations.

The County shall work with Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) and local public transportation providers to address the needs of non-drivers living in rural areas to provide public transportation and paratransit service.

The County shall support the recommendations of the California State Rail Plan for Amtrak trains, including track and signalization upgrades, increasing service frequencies by adding additional round-trip service to regional destinations north and south of Ventura County, improving passenger information and comfort, and reducing travel time.

When railroad rights-of-way are abandoned, the County shall evaluate the feasibility of acquiring the land for public use as public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian, or equestrian paths.

The County shall require that discretionary development be subject to permit conditions of approval, where feasible, to minimize traffic impacts by incorporating pedestrian and bicycle pathways, bicycle racks and lockers, ridesharing programs, transit improvements (bus turnouts, shelters, benches), and/or transit subsidies for employees or residents of the proposed development.

The County shall ensure that all new discretionary projects are fully evaluated for potential impacts to emergency access. Mitigation of these impacts shall be handled on a project-byproject basis to guarantee continued emergency service operations and service levels.

The County shall require that all new discretionary development is evaluated for potential impacts to existing railroad facilities and operations and identify appropriate mitigation measures, as warranted therein.

The County shall require discretionary development with access onto a County road to have the access point(s) designed and built to County standards.

The County shall strive to provide safe operating conditions for all appropriate modes and uses of County roadways.

The County shall coordinate the development and maintenance of all transportation facilities with emergency service providers to ensure continued emergency service operation and service levels.

The County shall work with Caltrans, Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), and cities in the county to plan, develop, and maintain regional transportation facilities and services, and to identify existing and future transportation corridors that should be linked across jurisdictional boundaries so that sufficient right-of-way may be preserved.

The County shall coordinate with Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to implement and update the Congestion Management Program (CMP). The County shall also encourage consideration of multimodal performance measures as part of future updates to the CMP.

For those portions of the County’s Regional Road Network currently not designated as part of the Congestion Management Program (CMP), the County shall coordinate with Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to formally designate applicable County maintained roadways as part of the CMP.

The County shall work with the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) and Caltrans to reprioritize the re-striping of SR 118 from Vineyard Avenue to Darling Road on the Ventura County Congestion Management Plan and the Caltrans list of projects to provide for an additional lane in each direction of travel.

The County shall identify and prioritize components of a bicycle network to increase public access and ridership on bicycle routes.

The County shall require adequate bicycle storage facilities (e.g., bicycle racks, lockers) for discretionary development as determined by allowable land uses at a given site.

The County shall develop a bicycle network for all user types and routes across the county.

The County shall encourage the development of a bicycle network that connects to regional destinations such as parks, trails, educational institutions, employment centers, transit, park and ride lots, and tourist destinations.

The County shall promote bicycle network connectivity between Ventura County communities as well as Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Counties.

The County shall plan for bicycle network connectivity in rural, agricultural, and open space areas in a way that supports and complements business and agricultural activities in those areas.

The County shall support the Complete Streets effort by, when feasible, constructing bicycle lanes on County maintained roads listed in the Ventura County Transportation Commission Bicycle Wayfinding Plan.

The County shall encourage the construction of a bicycle trail along the Santa Paula Branch Line Railroad in the unincorporated area between the cities of Ventura and Santa Paula.

The County shall use clear and consistent message and placement for on- and off-street regional bikeways and to regional destinations.

The County shall actively pursue outside funding opportunities for bicycle network improvements.

The County shall work with Caltrans and Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to reduce VMT by:  

• facilitating the efficient use of existing transportation facilities;  
• striving to provide viable modal choices that make driving alone an option rather than a necessity,  
• supporting variable work schedules to reduce peak period VMT, and  
• providing more direct routes for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The County shall encourage bicycling, walking, public transportation, and other forms of alternative transportation to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions.

The County shall work with a broad range of agencies (e.g., Caltrans, Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), Amtrak, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, public transportation providers and shared mobility vendors) to encourage and support programs that increase vehicle occupancy including the provision of traveler information, shuttles, and preferential parking for carpools/vanpools.

The County shall coordinate with Caltrans and Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to identify future park-and-ride lots within the unincorporated areas of Ventura County to facilitate more carpooling, vanpooling, and public transportation use.

The County shall strive to minimize adverse environmental and safety effects of County airports on the surrounding communities.

The County shall provide facilities at Oxnard and Camarillo Airports to meet the general aviation and commuter service needs of the citizens of Ventura County.

The County shall require private airstrips and agricultural landing fields to be sited to minimize conflicts with the flight paths of existing airports and other areas that would present significant hazards or nuisances.

The County shall encourage industrial and commercial activities that involve goods movement by air to locate near airports with air freight service to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

Discretionary development that would endanger the efficient, safe operation of an airport or would result in significant land use incompatibility impact with an airport shall be prohibited.

The County shall support the integration of emerging technologies that increase the routine use of alternative transportation options to decrease single-passenger automobile travel.

The County shall encourage Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) providers to coordinate with public transportation providers that serve unincorporated areas to increase the attractiveness of public transportation through the provision of free or subsidized public transportation patron first and last mile connections within unincorporated communities

The County shall consider the need for designated curb space for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) drop-off and pick-up activity in commercial/retail areas within unincorporated communities

The County shall continue to consider and assess the implications of autonomous vehicles, alternative energy vehicles, and other transportation technological advancements on mobility planning and infrastructure.

As part of new roadway planning and design as part of discretionary development, the County shall promote the use of permeable paving and other passive drainage features such as bioswales to prevent flooding, particularly in urban areas

The County shall support the development of alternative fueling stations (e.g., electric and hydrogen) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology for emerging technologies.

The County shall support the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, where feasible, at County facilities, parking lots, park-and-ride lots, truck stops, and new development.

The County shall encourage developments and street systems that support the use of properly licensed Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV), where appropriate.

The County shall encourage and support car share operators at multimodal facilities including public transportation hubs, passenger rail stations, and park-and-ride lots.

The County shall evaluate the feasibility and work to establish requirements for shared micromobility (e.g., bike sharing) vendors within unincorporated areas.